A Chico man is trying to drum his way into the Guinness Book of World Records. But before he hits a single beat, he has to hit the gym to physically prepare for his world record attempt.
Almost every day for one hour, Lou Mars is working out and getting in shape. It's all for a chance in January to see his name in the Guinness Book of World Records. In order for Mars to get his 15 minutes of fame, he will have to drum non-stop for five days. That adds up to 120 hours, with 5 minute breaks on the hour. Those breaks can be carried over and used later for a longer break.
Mars told Action News "part two is you actually have to play known songs. I can't make up a song. I can't just tape on the drums and say I was falling asleep, but that was a song. The songs have to be known songs and you cannot repeat a song in a 4 hour period. So I'm playing actual sets."
A team of trainers and nutritionists with Nor-Cal Strength and Conditioning are getting Mars physically fit before his drum roll toward immortality. Besides going for 5 days without sleep, the physical wear and tear on Lou's body will take a toll.
We asked Mars' trainer Robb Wolf about the most difficult physical aspect of the marathon drumming session. Wolf said "I suspect a combination of grip and also his back, so just the postural muscles keeping him upright. That's going to fatigue him enormously over the course of the event."
Mars said "When I'm done working out here, I sit on this drum set and I play with my hands tired. I'm exhausted. So they're making it feel like I'm already in Day 3. So I'm already going to know what that pain feels like."
Mars is a freelance drummer, who appears in Sharon MaRee's grammy-nominated video. He also won a national drum contest a year ago. But none of that will prepare him for the grueling challenge he's giving himself. "I'm not saying it's going to be easy by any means. It's going to be extremely difficult. But I am going to be prepared as much as possible."
The world record attempt is designed to raise awareness for putting music back into schools.
The event is scheduled for January 14, 2010 and will be Internet streamed live, in-addition to Skype access worldwide 24/7 for the duration of the event location in Chico California's NorCal Strength & Conditioning training warehouse. To learn more, log onto
http://www.loumarsdrums.com/worldrecord/index.html
